


Russian Roulette

by JasnNCarly



Category: One Life to Live
Genre: Drabble Series, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-21
Updated: 2010-11-21
Packaged: 2019-06-13 02:51:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JasnNCarly/pseuds/JasnNCarly
Summary: Centers around the Ford Family conflict of November, 2010.





	1. Chapter 1

**AN: The acting and writing for this family has got me hooked. Inspired by their first “reunion” scene, I wrote this story revolving around the lyrics of Rihanna’s song of the same title. It is a darker fic, so please be forewarned there may be uncomfortable language and subject matter.**  
  
You can see the reunion in this video: [OLTL Scene](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAxQVKoM4rk&feature=related)  
  
Italicized lyrics = new drabble

  
_*Beautiful banner by Ayshen_

**Russian Roulette**  
  
 _{Say a prayer to yourself  
He says 'close your eyes, sometimes it helps'}_  
  
Pushing the door forward, Ford nearly collapsed at the scene laid out in his apartment.  
  
Lying in a puddle of his own blood, his father lied with wide eyes – a gaping wound in his chest.  
  
 _He’s gone._    
  
The thought moved him forward, avoiding the seeping blood that attempted to meet his boot. Tearing his eyes away from Eddie, he found a familiar woman seated on his couch.   
  
She stared at the dead man calm, unmoved.   
  
“Inez?” He called her name, soft and patient, and hoped for an answer.  
  
Though she said nothing, the gun clutched in her hand spoke volumes.  
  
~*~  
  
 _{And then I get a scary thought  
That he's here - means he's never lost}_  
  
His heart stopped; terrified something unspeakable had been done to her.  
  
Searching her clothing for tears, eyeing her bare skin for wounds, Ford desperately tried to answer a painful question – what had his father done to her before he was shot?  
  
Tears flooded his eyes when he found her intact, warning him of bigger problems to come.   
  
“Inez?” His call again fell on deaf ears, causing his voice to crack upon his next attempt, “Mom?”  
  
Her brown eyes blinked, some sign of response to his call - one she had not heard from him in years.  
  
“What did you do?”  
  
~*~  
  
 _{Said I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving  
I know that I must pass this test}_  
  
 ** _“Mom?”_**  
  
His voice registered with her, dragging her out of a daze. When she attached the call to his voice, a wide smile spread across her lips, “Bobby?”  
  
“Yeah,” Ford nodded a firm confirmation, his hands over hers when she cupped his face, “It’s me, mom.”  
  
“What are you—“ She surveyed her surroundings, catching the image of Eddie and standing to her feet, in a panic, “You can’t be here. You have to leave. Now. Bobby, go, now!”  
  
“No, no, I’m not leaving you.” Following her to his feet, he fought through emerging tears, “Tell me what happened here.”


	2. Chapter 2

  
_*Beautiful banner by Ayshen_

_{If you play, you play for keeps  
Take the gun and count to three}_  
  
Defiant and scared until very end, Ford thought on his feet.   
  
His mother watched him as he rushed to shut the door, gathered a blanket off the couch to cover his father, then held his open hand out to her, “What are you doing, Bobby?”  
  
“I can fix this. I can. You—you just have to give me the gun.”  
  
“What? No!”  
  
He snatched the gun from her, frantically using his shirt to wipe the gun clean, “All I have to do is get rid of the gun, get rid of the body, and it’ll be like this never happened.”  
  
~*~  
  
 _{And you can see my heart beating  
You can see it through my chest}_  
  
“Listen to me, Bobby. You have to leave.” Inez’s heart ached at the sight of his quivering lips, streaming tears, and negative shake of his head, “Go some place where you’re seen. Have witnesses.”  
  
“…No.”  
  
Offering a sad smile, she used one hand to caress his cheek while the other retrieved the gun, “I’ve got this, honey. You’ve got to trust me to do now, what I couldn’t do then.”   
  
Ford’s voice was small, terrified as he protested, “The cops aren’t gonna let you get away this.”  
  
“Then I won’t ask them to.” She gave one last firm order, “Go.”  
  
~*~  
  
 _{Said I'm terrified but I'm not leaving  
Know that I must pass this test}_  
  
“Mom!!!” Nate’s call echoed through the department as she was guided into an interrogation room.  
  
James shook his head vehemently, tears in his eyes, “This can’t be happening. This  _isn’t_   **happening**.”  
  
Ford stepped in front of his brothers, placing a hand James’ shoulder as he locked his eyes with Nate, “She knows what she’s doing, okay? We can’t get arrested on top of everything.”  
  
“What happened?” James spoke through clenched teeth, trying to mask tears, “Why do they have our mom in handcuffs?”  
  
“I can’t answer that.” Ford surrendered to their glares, adding in a low breath, “Not right now.”


	3. Chapter 3

  
_*Beautiful banner by Ayshen_

_{Take a breath, take it deep  
'Calm yourself', he says to me}_  
  
Inez paced her jail cell, pounding her fist into her palm, and breathed deeply.  
  
 _I protected my boys._  
  
The phrase ‘my boys’ echoed in her mind, Eddie’s voice shouting a possession of her children.   
  
Just as she willed the memory away, she heard footsteps approach and spotted his uncertain approach.   
  
Her middle son was the definition of distraught, “Did he hurt you?”  
  
Tears flooded her eyes, heartbroken it was his first question. She placed her hands over his as he gripped at the cell bars, “We can’t talk about that.”Her smile of encouragement accompanied a request, “I need a favor.”  
  
~*~  
  
 _{And you can see my heart beating  
You can see it through my chest}_  
  
“Why does he get to see her first?” Nate huffed, struggling to escape Ford’s close guard, as they remained in a hallway of the precinct, “I want to know what happened.”  
  
“That’s why I needed James to go.” Ford surveyed their surroundings, “Inez told me something happened before she met up with Eddie. She said only you knew what it was.”  
  
A familiar fear flashed in the young man’s eyes as he swallowed hard.  
  
Ford would recognize the look anywhere, the words leaving his lips with bitter certainty, “You saw Eddie.”  
  
Nate remained silent, tightening his fists and staring away.  
  
~*~  
  
 _{And you can see my heart beating  
Oh, you can see it through my chest}_  
  
Hurried, James brought his brothers back to her cell, “Bo’s only giving us five minutes.”  
  
“That’s fine.” Inez insisted, touching Nate’s cheek the moment he was near, “You okay?”  
  
Nate’s tears escaped his ebony eyes while he confessed, “No, I’m the reason you’re here.”  
  
“I’m here because of me. I made a choice. One I should’ve made long ago, for you, for your brothers.” She was overjoyed to have James and Nate so near, both in tears over their love for her. But her eyes quickly drifted to her eldest, who tried to mask his pain, “…and for  __ **our**  family.”


	4. Chapter 4

  
_*Beautiful banner by Ayshen_

_{So many won't get the chance to say good-bye  
But it’s too late to think of the value of my life}_  
  
“Bobby, you have to take them to my home. Everything is covered. And, in the lock box on my bed, there is cash for whatever else you’ll need. I left the key with Bo. He knows to give it to you.”   
  
Ford’s jaw dropped with a sharp laugh, “Wait a second, you don’t get to rearrange our lives without an explanation.”  
  
“Everything will come out in court. Right now, we have to focus.” Inez moved towards him, extending her hand through the bars.   
  
Reluctantly, Ford stepped forward – settling his hand within hers.  
  
Smiling, Inez knew, “You’ll do this for me.”  
  
~*~  
  
 _{You can see my heart beating  
Oh, you can see it through my chest}_  
  
They all sat at the dining room table, plates full of food which had yet to be touched.  
  
Breaking the silence, James growled, “This isn’t right. We should be figuring out how to get her home.”  
  
“You heard what she said.” Ford forced a bite, “We’re doing what we’re supposed to.”  
  
“It’s that simple for you?” Nate’s voice, full of spite, hit his brothers with reminders, “Our father’s dead because our mother. Let’s eat some food?”  
  
“You know, you seem to have all the answers.” Ford dropped his fork, lifting his hands in frustration, “Tell us what happened with Eddie.”  
  
~*~  
  
 _{Said I'm terrified but I'm not leaving  
Know that I must pass this test}_  
  
“Bobby.” James said his name in gentle protest – Nate’s reaction was just as obvious to him.   
  
Ford shook his head, eyes ablaze, “No, we’re all family. Let’s figure out why she did it. Was it because of all of us? Or just because she was saving her baby boy over there?”  
  
Nate avoided their eyes, “It wasn’t anything new.”  
  
Ford pressed on, despite James’ pleading gaze, “That’s bull, and you know it!”  
  
“It’s not.” Nate finally met his brother’s gaze, his voice shaken, “I heard him tell mom he was finally going to  _‘take care’_  of us –  **all**  of us.”


	5. Chapter 5

  
_*Beautiful banner by Ayshen_

_{As my life flashes before my eyes  
I'm wondering will I ever see another sunrise}_  
  
Inez could only imagine what her boys were doing as they anticipated her trial, unable to get her released into their custody.  
  
No one was more disappointed than her, stuck in a tiny room with nothing but memories.  
  
There were the same senses, over and over again. The faint taste of blood in her moth, screams which begged him to stop, and the glowing rage in his eyes as sent her crashing to the ground.  
  
Ford would never know how his eyes stayed with her - a tiny boy staring down at her, sobbing loud enough to wake the neighbors.  
  
 _{I’m sweating now, moving slow  
No time to think, my turn to go}_  
  
As she entered the courtroom, Ford stood pensive. He signaled his brothers to wait.  
  
Her smile comforted them as the officer removed her handcuffs, her arms embracing them the moment she was free.   
  
James and Nate held her tightly as she kissed their cheeks.   
  
Inez dried their tears with her thumbs before turning to Ford.  
  
Saying nothing, he tried to hide his emotions.  
  
Inez tried not to break down, flashing back to his younger days, and brought him into her embrace. Feeling his arms suddenly hug her back, she assured him, “It’s going to be okay, Bobby. I promise you.”  
  
 _{I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving  
know that I must pass this test  
So, just pull the trigger…}_  
  
“Come on, Inez! You’re not going to shoot me, Inez.” Eddie chuckled, tossing his beer to the chair, “I’m just gonna grab the gun.”  
  
“That’s what I’ll tell the cops. I’ll say he threatened my boys. I tried to reason with him, bribe him, anything to keep them safe. When he pulled a gun, I managed to get it. Shot before he could.  _Self_ **defense**.”  
  
She pulled the trigger, unwilling to give into doubt and fear. While Eddie fell back, she stood over him and with one certainty.  
  
 _My boys are safe now. I’ll never let anyone hurt them again._  
  
 **The End**


End file.
